Movies Watched In 2008

I watched this film, as I have been studying the Slave Trade at school and wanted to expand my knowledge. I found this film very interesting, it did not lose my attention at any point. Ioan Gruffudd gives a brilliant performance and is very convincing as William Wilberforce. Also giving good supporting roles are Michael Gambon, Albert Finney and Benedict Cumberbatch. Nicely directed with an excellent script, definately worth a view for history fans.

A wonderful British romance film of the 1940's. A timeless masterpiece with characters so real you sometimes forget they are acting. I'm not usually one for romance films but Brief Encounter is so incredibly poignant and well written. Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard are perfectly cast and give unforgettable performances. The train station and sound effects create a haunting atmosphere and have probably changed the way I look at train stations. It's a simple, honest story of love and longing, I could never tire of it.

'This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.' Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are excellent in their title roles as well as Gene Hackman and Michael J. Pollard. This is an important piece of film-making of the 1960's and is most definately a landmark. A fast-paced, entertaining, quotable and violent film that makes you want the Barrow gang to succeed. The ending will leave you speechless. Highly recommended memorable classic.

Great British gangster classic. Michael Caine just oozes coolness in his signature role. A gripping, tense films that's very quotable. I can't say it was better than my expectations because it wasn't unfortunately. Ultimately this is extremely gritty and powerful drama. I'd recommend it.

A suprising and suspenseful film. A thrilling watch that actually quite frightened me. M. Night Shyamalan has an expert ability to build tension, break and then rebuild it, so it's true to say that nobody else could have directed this film. I don't think this film deserves some of the bad reviews it received. The ending is a little disappointing and the film lacks sincerity, but it is entertaining nonetheless.

Extremely overlooked film. A dark and clever gangster film with a terrific cast. A career best performance for Gary Oldman, probably second to Norman Stansfield in Leon, he gives a chilling performance as an Irish gangster. Not only does he play a psychopath-who-keeps-body-parts-in-his-freezer fantastically well but he also makes him likeable. Also in my opinion he made Sean Penn seem boring in this film.
It's tense, gritty and action-packed but unfortunately not without it's cliches, it also tends to lag with the scenes with Penn and Robin Wright.
Highly recommended, Gary Oldman's knockout performance is reason enough to see it.

Excellent British Gangster classic. Richard Attenborough gives a fantastically menacing performance as mob leader Pinkie Brown, Carol Marsh is also good as the very innocent and naive Rose. A dark, suspenseful gangster thriller with sharp and clever dialogue to top it all off. Brighton Rock is an underrated classic.

Stunning, beautiful and poignant film. I am intent on reading the novel after viewing this excellent film.
James McAvoy and Keira Knightley were well cast as the pining lovers, although James McAvoy performed a little better and was oustanding to watch. Keira Knightley on the other hand wasn't as sensational as McAvoy but still pulls off a riveting performance. The young Saoirse Ronan was gave a great performance, she and Romola Garai show great potential for the future. Vanessa Redgrave is also worth a mention, she gave a very powerful performance of the ageing Briony.
A breathtakingly well-crafted film from Joe Wright, who I hope will bring us more remarkable films in the future.
With inspiring dialogue and a unique sound, Atonement deserves the praise it has been given and will hopefully scoop a few Awards. This is a modern masterpiece, just as captiviting as other romantic epics such as 'The English Patient', Atonement is definately a must-see.

Suprising, thrilling, a tense French horror film. Them (Ils) is definately above a lot of the usual hollywood horror tripe that has been released in the past few years. But that still doesn't cover up the disappointment I felt after watching this. It begins quite predictably but then quickly delves into a fast-paced edge-of-seat thriller.
The jumpy parts of the film aren't very unique and are to be expected by the viewer, this triggered the fact that the films isn't as brilliant as I had heard it to be.
Them is well acted and provides nervy entertainment, definately better than most corny slasher films. The most disturbing thing about the film is the fact that it is based on true events that occured in 2002. It's worth a view but don't expect a revelation in the horror genre.

Gripping, stylish and well-crafted cop thriller. A refreshing script which is tensely directed. It's highly entertaining to the point that my eyes were glued to the screen.
Both Andy Lau and Tony Leung give great performances but Tony Leung adds a slight more humanity to his role. Anthony Wong also worth mentioning was good support. I'm a little disappointed with the ending, I expected it to end with more of a bang.
However, this is a smart, exciting and compelling film, I implore you to watch it.

I had high expectations of this film because I had read the book and it was a very entertaining and funny read. Okay, it wasn't as good as the book but still watchable, the odd laugh here and there. A good performance from James McAvoy, I couldn't fault him. I'd never seen him in a comedic role and still he was very charming.
A fun feel-good film, not your average romantic comedy because it's more about his college life than his love life but both are combined, so it contains a unique type of humour. Plus it has a fantastic soundrack, I liked the constant use of The Cure. I recommend the book more than the film, a lot of good parts were unfortunately left out.

A clever little gem of a film. Intelligent and articulate, poignant and profound. I liked it's close attention to details in every scene and the message it gives you about life.
Audrey Tautou was perfect for the role, a delight to watch, giving a sincere yet very funny performance.
Stunningly shot, with amazing costumes, colours and art direction. Amelie is charming, funny, moving and a beautiful experience. One of the best films I have ever seen.

Magnificent, powerful and gripping drama. Wonderful musical score and excellent use of black-and-white cinematography.
This has been sitting in my collection for a while now, and I've finally just got around to watching it, and I must say I definately regret the long wait.
Brando excels in his performance giving a truly moving portrayal of Terry Malloy, definately worth of his Oscar. Eva Marie Saint is also sensational but angelic in a supporting role. The chemistry between the two, sizzles.
Good story, powerful acting, superbly directed, although it needs to be watched with patience. Highly recommended.

Magnificent film. Marion Cotillard's acting alone makes it worth watching, but in whole the film is very well done. Cotillard's performance is one of the best I've seen from an actor or actress in a long time, she captures the lively and passionate girl at the beginning as well as the sad and broken Piaf at the end. The make-up transformation of different ages is very well done and believable.
The music is wonderful and not at all overused.
The ending was very depressing and overwhelmingly sad but the whole film was very entertaining nonetheless. Great film-making, I deeply recommend it.

I did not expect so much from this film, because I usually don't go for the magical, wizard and witch type of films. But this was a pleasant surprise. It was charming, magical, amusing.
The casting was great, newcomer Charlie Cox proves he may have a big career ahead of him. Michelle Pfeiffer, was perfectly cast, I don't think anyone else could have played the part better than she did. Robert De Niro was fantastic but seemed like he was enjoying himself too much playing the part! Other good appearances from Peter O' Toole, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Mark Strong amongst a lot of others.
Yes, it can seem a bit corny and predictable at times, but it's a lot fun for all the ages.